….They don’t portend a totalitarian state “beyond the dreams of even the greatest tyrants of the past,” as Greenwald believes is possible. A friend from Iran who was jailed and tortured for having the wrong political beliefs, and who is now an American citizen, observed drily, “I prefer to be spied on by NSA.” The sense of oppression among Greenwald, Poitras, and other American dissenters is only possible to those who have lived their entire lives under the rule of law and have come to take it for granted…..

….Women comprise just 17 percent of its global tech workforce, according to data Google published on its website and released exclusively to the PBS NewsHour. When it comes to leadership, women only account for 21 percent of the top positions in the company, which has a workforce of just under 50,000 people. Google, which has been under rising pressure along with other tech companies to release diversity data, also reported that blacks comprise just one percent of all tech employees in the U.S. Hispanics account for two percent of the tech workforce in the U.S. Asians account for 34 percent of the company’s U.S. tech workforce…..

“About a quarter of today’s pool of highly experienced software developers is female, and a company such as Google — which has its pick of the crop of new graduates as well as experienced engineers — should have far greater diversity,” Wadhwa wrote in a post for the NewsHour. Telle Whitney, the president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute, a not-for-profit that works to foster a more welcoming culture for women in tech, said Google’s disclosure is a significant step. But she told the NewsHour in a statement, the numbers themselves are below what they should be…..

I went to the game last night with no expectations…..the whole city had already gave up on the series…. I got awesome 3rd row half-court seats for $35 bucks!! We will see how they do when Lebron James doesn’t have 5 fouls with 1 3/4 quarters(20 minutes) of the game left….fingers crossed! Hey the BlackHawks pulled off a win in OT under the exact circumstances last night as well 🙂

I was checking on both—–have fam members interested in both—–granddaughter wears her Pacers cheerleading outfit on game days—–think she hit the sack before the victorious end though—–she’s only 7 mo. so—- understandable. She heard the good news this a.m. tho and celebrated with milk! Lately they both seem to win or lose together. Blackhawks game was a real barnburner also—-double OT. Daughter and son in law are fans—–saw her tweet “Phew!” with the winning goal.

Indiana fans are fair-weather fans, Vicki! Any sign of despair they abandon ship……. My dad got two floor seats to the 2000 NBA finals against the (Kobe & Shaq) Lakers for $150 bucks when I was in high school….

Was waiting for a fresh thread, not contaminated by the rattlerattlechatter to tell you of my day: I learned today, the sports ortho I had been referred to last October, and for whom I have developed considerable trust and respect happens to be Seahawks doc; not only, he flew out to the White House with the team last week, and shook hands with President Obama!! Yes. Woot! And today, those hands very capably injected some weird and hopefully beneficial serum into my poor tired knee. After shaking hands with PBO. One degree of separation, and I am quite enraptured by it all!!! He was happy to indulge my inquisitiveness after the work was done: said it was a bit surreal, like being on television, but PBO is just what he expected him to be. We agreed that PBO has always been consistently who he seems to be, no faking, enormous aura. We also agreed he is setting the presidency bar so high, it will be a major task to fulfill the seat going forward. We shared our great admiration and respect, and said, see you in a week!! 🙂 Now, isn’t that a fine tale to bring home?? 🙂

Well, VC, I would surely hope a full week later Dr. had indeed washed his hands, even countless hundreds of times!! But it’s not the superficial touch, it’s the energy, it’s the dynamic, that stays within the etheric body for a long time, perhaps as long as energy (which cannot be created or destroyed) exists. That is in large part what astounds me about POTUS and FLOTUS, they do not seem to suffer or lose any part of themselves even when being touched or hugged by far more people than I can imagine (I wouldn’t care to have so many people touching me, thank you very much!)

Sorry, have to vent. I made the mistake of turning on Tweety, he is demanding The President do something now! He never served in the military, by his demands he has no idea of the scope of this issue. Another mess The President has to clean up that was caused by those who came before me. If he really is concerned he should have a panel of Veterans, not a bunch of talking bobble heads like himself. I see none, nada, leadership qualities in the Tweety Bird, nor any understanding of leadership. This does it for me, never turning that idiot on ever again. Thanks for listening.

Was just coming here for a similar reason … watched 10 mins. of that bloviator’s show and that’s further confirmation that I’ve been right not to watch much cable news for days. They are all bobble heads, as you said. Tweety and his duo of fools from today’s show need to STFU. Even when they are complimenting the President on the one hand, they are trying to take him down in the next freakin’ sentence.

I didn’t last 10 minutes, not even close……probably 2 minutes and I changed channel. Jeopardy: If the current champion wins tonight, she will be the highest winning woman ever. Think I have that correct. I caught an interview/report about her this morning, but missed the beginning where most of the info was given. Anyway, I wanted to watch tonight anyway so Tweety helped me remember. 🙂

Didn’t he demand that the pres Do something during BP oil spill, the 1st debate in 2012, the attacks by the Clintons during 2008, the Debt Ceiling debates in 2011 and 2013, during the Healthcare.gov glitches…….Matthews wanted Sebielus fired, he wanted people fired during the IRS, etc.

Screaming is Not a sign of Smartness 24/7 and that is what Matthews does. He wants to micromanage this president…..challenging him to do what Matthews wants. It frustrates him that this POTUS doesn’t and has never danced to this type of Screaming matches.

Then Matthews would turn around and say that the right hates and wants to make pres Obama’s presidency as an ****** asterisk. Has Tweety mate his mouth and his words lately? They sound just as disrespectful….. many times as those coming of the Haters themselves.

You may have something there—–I always think that so much of the buttering up from these hosts is their attempt to snag interviews—–it’s all about them—–another notch in their belt—-and Tweety has been going overboard with his Hillary Hype. And then —–all that fakey praise for naught—-might have made him testy.

Returned last night from a “road trip” to the San Fernando Valley to visit my sister. Had a great time seeing family and meeting a year old great nephew for the first time.

In the city of Belen NM is a horrible sign on I-25. It’s the OFA logo with the message “Worst President Ever.” It made me physically ill when I saw it a couple of years ago and if I ever have to go that way again, I’ll have to find an alternate route. Bastards.

HOWEVER…on our way out to Cali, somewhere between Grants and Gallup NM, there is a big billboard with a smiling President Obama that says, “Greatest President of All Time!” I was so elated when I saw that and somewhat shocked because, of course, I didn’t expect to see that! We were in Native American country, maybe near the Laguna Pueblo. I’m almost certain the billboard was erected by their nation because of the friend and supporter the President has been to them. Wonderful to see.

Some people feel compelled to expose their hate, even though they are in the minority. After President Obama has won two elections, surely these haters have some idea that they aren’t holding the popular position? I feel sorry for them. So thrilled to hear about the positive sign down the road, though!

Now comes Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s amended election-year promise, delivered as he’s fighting for his political life: To rid the state of the ACA even while keeping all the good that “kynect” does.

At best, of course, his promise represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the ironclad link between the ACA and “kynect.” At worst, it’s a blatant attempt to mislead Kentucky families for his political benefit.

While that is fun to ponder, the salient point is this: Even critics are acknowledging that the ACA is bringing health care to those who desperately need it. In short, it’s working.

I see the ACA’s positive impact first-hand in my home state, a place whose collective poor health has long been jeopardizing the lives and financial security of hard-working families who can’t seem to get ahead.

We watched PBS newshour tonight……excellent interview of SOS Kerry by Gwen Ifill. Her questions were good…..some a little toward the “gotcha” but Kerry handled them with grace and clarity. Everything from Snowden to Ukraine to Syria to Iran, to President Obama’s reputation in foreign policy. She started that question with “Some say…….” Boy did Kerry take that one and tell her what’s what. Named all of PBO’s successes, and said frankly that the President doesn’t take enough credit for what he does. Said NO, he’s not giving up on the Middle East, and this problem is of 40 or 50 years’ duration, and there’s not going to be a magical, overnight solution, but he is going to keep working.

He was so clear and coherent…….I still grieve over the 2004 election. We saw him in February of that year, and never understood what people said about him: stiff, boring, tedious…….in person he was vital, alive, knowledgeable and funny.

No one’s getting beamed up anytime soon, but teleportation may have taken a big step closer to reality.

Researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands say they have succeeded in accurately transferring information from one quantum bit to another quantum bit located 3 meters away — without the information traveling through the intervening space.

A quantum bit (qubit) is analogous to a conventional computer bit — though unlike a conventional bit, a qubit can represent more than two possible values.

I listen to a little bit of Chris Matthews, but I had to turn the channel. I get so dam tired of listening to these pundits telling POTUS what he should do and they really get piss if he does things his way. I think POTUS is handling the Shinseki matter the way he choose to handle it. And if he comes to the conclusion that Shinseki should go, then he will go. But how dare John McCain and that other Arizona Senator act so upset, after all what were they doing? Isn’t Phoenix in Arizona, the state they are senator represent. Why didn’t they fix the VA problem in Phoenix? Surely some of the veterans contact McCain for help. If Shinseki goes, shouldn’t McCain go too.

Shortage of drs. at the VA. “Harder to attract physicians to care for more challenging patients while paying them less.” Drs. there are already seeing over 2000 patients each, an overwhelming number. VA sure could have used that new funding bill which the GOP shot down.

Last 3 years at VA: primary care appointments are up 50%, while # of primary care physicians are up just 9% http://t.co/BWvavklbhI

That is a joke. PBO NEVER talks or spills beans, and Hillary is also closemouthed. This is someone’s joke account, or idea of a joke. After what Colin Powell did getting us into Iraq?????????NO WAY. The President would not do that.